Remember
by Molly712
Summary: My life used to suck. That was before I met the Weasleys. Or should I say met them again? See, according to them I am a witch and was an 'adopted' member of their family before my mysterious disappearance a year ago. But I can't remember. And as if that wasn't enough, they seem to be rather reluctant to fill me in on certain aspects of my past...James/OC - (If she can remember)
1. It's A Wonderful Life

The morning was quite chilly, despite the fact that it was mid-June. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to go outside without a coat, or a scarf. In my defence though, it had looked like a gorgeous day from the apartment.

I pulled my jumper up closer to my neck and wrapped my arms around myself as I walked. My route to work took me through most of the busy, main streets in Edinburgh and only took me about fifteen minutes. I was lucky in that sense I guessed, no need for stifling train or bus rides, just long walks through crowds of early morning commuters.

Oh joy.

Today wasn't exactly my lucky day, and forgetting my jacket had only been the beginning. As I was walking down one of the streets, I was knocked to the side by a burly, middle-aged man and sent stumbling straight into the path of a cloud of smoke. The obnoxious git kept on going, not even sparing a glance as I coughed and spluttered my way through the stench of cigar.

Whatever happened to good old-fashioned chivalry?

As the day progressed, it didn't get much better. I arrived just about on time for my shift at Carla's Coffee and got chewed out by Carla herself for nearly being late. Then I got groped by no less than four seedy looking businessmen within an hour (A new record). By the time two o'clock rolled around I was definitely ready for a break.

I sighed as I took my usual ramble through the streets, munching on my 'Today-is-a-crap-day-and-I-need-sugar' cookie and mulling over my pathetic life. Because there really was no other word for it. I had no friends to speak of, a dead-end job and the highlight of my day was eating this cookie.

Truly. Pathetic.

Now, before you start assuming anything, let me just tell you that I have an excellent reason for being in this situation. An excellent reason. See, the thing is, I don't remember. I don't remember anything about my life before a year ago.

Yup, that's right. I have amnesia.

Like, proper amnesia. Everything from before a year ago is a complete blank. I can't remember my family or friends (Or if I even had any) . Nor can I remember where I lived, what I did, or what age I am.

According to the doctors, I was brought into Emergency after a car crash with extensive injuries and when I woke up I knew less than they did. The one thing that I could tell them was that my name was Elena. I chose the name Palmer for myself. Since I had no idea what my surname was, I figured I may as well choose one I liked.

See, the doctors did all these tests on me when I woke up. Apparently, I have an English accent but no one fitting my description was ever reported missing. I understand social cues and speak fluently but make odd mistakes, like when I called the doctors 'Healers'. And I have absolutely no knowledge of subjects like Maths and Science, which I really should if I'm as educated as I appear.

That is one of the main problems with not knowing who I am. I have no proof of an education, no matter how educated I may seem, and hence the reason I'm stuck working in this terrible café every weekday and most weekends.

I don't know much more now than I did a year ago. There are those odd times, when something seems overwhelmingly familiar. For instance, there was one time I met a elderly woman with a sharp Scottish accent, and as I listened to her speak I felt a strange emotion, one I still cannot put a name on. It felt comforting, almost like I was home, or something…

But to put it simply, I'm a mystery.

And I live here in Edinburgh because I have nowhere else to go.

* * *

I soon arrived back at Carla's, not exactly ready to start working again, and threw back on my uniform. I had only three hours left until I could go home. Tomorrow was Saturday, and for the first time in three weeks I had it off and I fully intended to savour it.

I didn't really know where to go. Over the past year I've visited all the local places, never venturing more than an hour away from the city. I could try find out more about myself but there is nowhere I could go and nothing I could do that hasn't already been tried.

And to be honest, I'm not even sure if I want to know. There's something strange about my past, about how no one ever reported me missing. Were my family awful people, who couldn't care less about me? Did l even have a family?

Sometimes I desperately wanted to have all the answers, but other times I found myself wondering..

Do I really want to know?

* * *

It was nearing six by the time I got home, Carla had decided that an extra half-hour of cleaning wouldn't hurt, seeing as I was off tomorrow. I scowled as I walked up the apartment staircase. Bloody woman.

But, despite the time, it was still light outside, and it looked lovely. I decided to quickly change into something marginally more comfortable and go for a ramble around the city. I hadn't done that in quite a while… There was a bakery down one of the side streets that opened late, and I vaguely remembered reading about an arts and crafts fair near the castle..

My musings were interrupted by a dreadfully familiar voice as I reached my door.

"Hey Elena."

I closed my eyes to steady myself, my back to him. I had been so, so close.. I shouldn't have bothered coming home. Damn you and your comfy clothes Elena!

I spun around, plastering a fake smile on my face.

"Well, hey Drew."

Drew Bradley stood there, smiling creepily at me. Well, I suppose most people would say he was smiling 'cutely', or 'hotly' or something, but I was slightly biased. The guy has been stalking me since I first moved here, almost a year ago, constantly asking me out on dates. And constantly being turned down.

There was nothing overly wrong with him - I was just not interested. A fact that he simply did not seem to get.

"You're home late tonight. Hope that woman's not working you too hard." He smiled.

I smiled back. When Drew wasn't doing his creepy 'go out with me' act, he was actually a genuinely nice person. There wasn't actually a good reason why I shouldn't go out with him. Except that it just didn't feel right. Everytime I'd considered saying yes, I'd gotten this horrible feeling in my gut. Like I would be committing some huge betrayal by accepting.

I supposed it wasn't really fair that the reason I hated him so much was more to do with my feelings than his actions. But that awful guilty feeling that sprung up everytime he asked me out did not make sense and it gave me the creeps. Hence the reason he gave me the creeps.

His irritating persistence did not help matters either.

"Ugh. She always does." I looked at his clothes. "You off somewhere Drew?"

"I'm going out with the guys from work. We're going to a few pubs around the place. You up for it?"

It was completely hopeless and he knew it. But at least I knew he wouldn't be badgering me all night, or worse yet, following me around Edinburgh. To 'show me the sights'.

"Nope. You know me Drew." I smirked at him. "Enjoy yourself."

"You're killing me, Elena!" He shouted after me, as I entered the flat. I caught one last glance of his grinning face before I shut the door. I shook my head. It would take a ton of bricks to knock that guy down.

I walked straight to my bedroom, changing into a nice pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Tonight was a night all to myself. There was no one around to notice if I got home late, or to judge me for eating fifty crêpes in a row. While that fact would've usually made me feel depressed, tonight I felt slightly liberated.

I could do anything I liked.

* * *

It was about an hour later. I was walking down one of the quieter streets in the city, away from the Friday night madness, munching on a crêpe. It was still very bright, there was only a hint of dusk in the sky and even then you had to squint.

This was one of my favourite places in Edinburgh. It was quite a new street, but surrounded by old buildings. There was a long pathway down the centre of it, with pretty flowerpots and a couple of benches on either side and it was always fairly quiet, since there were no cars allowed down.

Tonight, I spotted an elderly couple taking a stroll and a young child skipping ahead of her mother, pointing excitedly at one of the shops. I passed a well-dressed businessman, a harried look on his face, a couple of teenagers, walking quickly towards the other end of the street, and a young woman with gorgeous red hair, sitting on a bench just ahead, her back turned to me.

I always loved watching these people, wondering where they were going, what the looks on their faces meant. Why did the businessman look so stressed? Were the teenagers heading towards the park, or somewhere more sinister? Some of the scenarios I invented were truly ridiculous, but they always made me laugh.

Shaking my head at my own silliness, I deposited the crêpe wrapper in the bin and kept walking. I had only walked a few more metres when I heard shouting behind me, a young woman, calling someone. I ignored it, not even listening to what she was shouting. But a few seconds later the shouts became clearer.

I whipped around, not really believing what I was hearing, or seeing actually. The young woman with the gorgeous, fiery red hair was running towards me.

And she was shouting my name.


	2. Everything Has Changed

The redheaded woman stared at me, with an expression resembling something like wonder. Or shock.

I stared right back, but my face probably contained something more akin to confusion. Complete and utter confusion.

A few more moments passed as we stared at each other. The redhead was gazing at me, with her hand over her mouth in apparent shock. This was starting to creep me out. A lot.

My mind flew through several explanations for her actions, each sounding more unbelievable than the last. The one thing I could comprehend was that she knew my name, and she recognised me.

Only, I couldn't recall ever seeing her before. I was certain that we had never met. Then again, I was an amnesiac, so my recollections didn't really count for much...

Hold on a second. Of course! I had amnesia, so she could have known me before my accident…

"Do you know me?" I blurted out, before I could stop myself.

She seemed a bit taken aback by my question, but finally removed her hand from her mouth.

"Know you? Of course I do Lena…." She trailed off, watching me uncertainly. Her expression, which had become confused at my words, suddenly changed to one of understanding...

"You don't know me." she asserted. I nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I don't remember much about my life. Or anything really. At all. About my life I mean. Although I suppose there's other things." Oh my god. Did I usually ramble like this? It was a wonder she didn't turn around and run away, saying to just forget we ever met.

Thankfully the redhead (I really needed to get her name) didn't seem to notice, or care. In fact, she seemed to be in even more turmoil than I was, if her facial expressions were anything to go by.

After another few minutes of waiting for her to speak, I lost my patience. My mind was bursting with questions.. Who was she? Did she know my family? Where was I from? Who was she? What was my real name? What happened to me? Would she please say something? Who the bloody hell was she!?

She suddenly looked up at me. Oops.. Did I say that last one out loud?

"We should sit." she said, and motioned towards one of the benches. I nodded, following her to the seat.

"So, Elena.." she began. "What exactly do you remember? Since you obviously don't remember me…"

Okay, well where to begin? "Umm.. Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Wow, what a riveting conversation.

"I can't actually remember anything from before a year ago. I woke up in a hospital near here.. The nurses said I was found on the side of the road one night - I had some really bad injuries. They suspected it was a hit and run."

"But you don't remember?"

"Not a thing. I was in a coma for a few weeks after the accident and when I woke up - blank. The only thing I could tell the doctors was that my name was Elena. I chose Palmer as my surname." I glanced at her. She was watching me with a strange expression. "Is that right?"

"Em, nope. Your real surname is Thomas."

Thomas. Elena Thomas.. I felt a trill of excitement. As soon as she said it, I knew. I recognised that name. I still couldn't remember a thing, but I knew that was my name.

I gave a small, nervous laugh. "Thank you. Wow, well that's basically all I know. I've spent the last year living here in Edinburgh, working in a local café. And that's about it." I took a deep breath. This was so surreal. Only a couple of minutes had passed since she had shouted my name.

"Soo… I think it's my turn to ask questions now?"

The redhead nodded. "Fire away."

Right. That was the first question. Time to stop calling her 'the redhead'. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "My name's Dominique. Dominique Weasley, but you call me Dom. We've been best friends since we were eleven."

"Right. Wow. I suppose it would be weird if I said 'nice to meet you', then.."

She laughed. "Very weird."

"Okay. Well I guess that means you know my family and..?" I trailed off. Dom's face had all of a sudden changed from laughing to uncertain.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I know them.." she sighed. "I'm afraid you didn't get on well with your family. I said we met when we were eleven. Well, we met at our boarding school. It's kind of an exclusive school, really exclusive, and occasionally parents have… issues with sending their child there."

I frowned. That didn't really make a lot of sense. But, before I could interrupt, Dom hurried on.

"You never told me everything about what went on at home but you spent every holiday except summer at the school in our first year. I assumed that whatever problem you were having with your parents would sort itself out. But then you told me you planned to stay the next Christmas too. I eventually convinced you to spend it at my house. And for the next few years, you spent nearly all the time we weren't at school with my family."

Dom took a breath and glanced at me hesitantly. I nodded for her to continue, trying to absorb everything she was saying.

"You did go home sometimes, usually for a few weeks in summer. Then, the summer after our fifth year, something happened. I think you must have had a huge row about… well… something… Anyway, you wouldn't tell me the specifics but I got the gist. I don't know if you have seen your parents since." she looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, that probably wasn't the story you were hoping for."

"No, not really…" I murmured, politely. But in reality, I felt like screaming 'definitely not!'. It didn't take a genius to see that there were some massive, gaping holes in that story. I barely had time to ponder this new information, however, as she was talking again.

"But, you always had a family in us Weasleys. We sort of adopted you. You became an honorary Weasley, or an extra cousin - whichever way you want to look at it." Dom grinned. "You fit right in, you know. Everyone loved you, and it's rare we all agree on something!"

The way she was talking about her family, they sounded huge.

"How many are there, exactly, in your family?" I asked.

She laughed. "Oh, it's not just my immediate family I'm talking about. It would take too long to name everyone out to you now.. There's twelve of us cousins, but you and Teddy have been family so long we just call you our cousins now too!" she laughed again. "Our family's extremely crazy, just to warn you. A normal family dinner tends to include arguments, pranks, hysterical laughing, general chaos etc… etc..."

I grinned along with her, unable to help myself (and making a mental note to ask who Teddy was later). The family she was describing sounded like so much.. fun. And I was a part of it?

But Dominique had suddenly stopped grinning. She shook her head.

"Why am I even laughing? It was so horrible when you disappeared, Elena, you have no idea.. And now I've just bumped into you on the street. We thought.. Merlin, everyone's going to be so ecstatic that you're alive."

I felt a strange pang that I couldn't place, but I brushed it off, for the moment. There was another question weighing on my mind.

"Did you report me missing?" I asked out of curiosity. It struck me that although I was meant to be part of this fun, loving family, there hadn't been anyone fitting my description on the missing persons. Ever.

Dominique hesitated. "That's kind of a long story. You see.. Well I don't think now is the best time to explain it." she glanced around our surroundings.

I looked around with her, and was momentarily startled to see the street around us. I had completely forgotten where we were in the short while that we had been talking. Dominique's voice brought my attention back to her.

"I think it's best if I come back tomorrow with... some more of us… There's a lot that needs to be explained, and I don't want to pile it all on top of you at once. Plus, it's freezing out here." she added with a grin.

I nodded. I had noticed she wasn't wearing a coat, or even a scarf. She must be staying pretty close by. As I was thinking this, a strong gust of wind blew strands of my blonde hair into my face. I had quite nice hair, if I do say so myself, but it seemed rather lacklustre right now, compared to Dom's fiery locks.

She stood up and I noticed, despite what she had said about the cold, she didn't seem to be feeling it. I was shivering in my coat and scarf, yet she was standing there in a mere cardigan and didn't even look the slightest bit uncomfortable.

I shook off my thoughts for the moment, however, and we made plans to meet up the next day. While a part of me wanted to go with her right then and there, I knew it would be better not to rush and I willingly told her where my apartment was. We agreed to meet there and she'd bring 'them', whoever they were. All the other questions I had could wait until tomorrow, right?

Not.

I had a restless sleep that night. I bounced from excitement, to worry, to fear, to euphoria and back again. Every minute, I seemed to come up with a new question. I could not wait.

It was only at three o' clock in the morning, just before I finally fell asleep, that I suddenly remembered something from earlier. When Dom had been talking she had said 'Merlin'.

And I hadn't thought it was strange.


	3. Today Was Interesting

I was standing in a park. It was a rather strange park - there was only one set of swings and the surrounding area was completely empty. I was also completely alone.

I started to walk towards the swings, then suddenly realised that the park wasn't as empty as I had thought.. There was girl, her back to me, sitting on one of the swings. A girl I hadn't noticed a second ago.

I walked closer, seeing her blonde hair streaming as she swung. Her peals of laughter reached my ears, as I realised there was someone else with her. A man had appeared in front of her, he was pushing the swing. I strained to see his face but it was blurred, I couldn't focus.

I was running now, trying to get to them - for some reason I felt a sense of urgency- I needed to get to them. But the more I tried the more I felt I was running through something sticky, like treacle. I looked down and realised it was treacle. I was sinking!

I glanced back up, intending to shout to the two for help but I looked up and both were gone. I was alone again. But I couldn't move. Beep... I was going to drown... Beep... I was going to drown in treacle…. Beep… treacle… Beep… treacle tart…

Beep.. Beep.. Beep..

Something was beeping, I ascertained through my groggy haze. Something was beeping incessantly. I rolled over and slammed my hand down on the offending object. Which turned out to be my alarm clock. An alarm clock that protested pitifully at being treated in such a manner. Oh well.

I was still dazed, confused with sleep. For no apparent reason the words 'treacle tart' were floating around my head. I could barely remember the dream.. I tried, but all I got were vague, blurry images. Dreams were strange. They made you think of things like laughter and treacle tarts…

Come to think of it, I had never had treacle tart before. In fact, I couldn't ever recall knowing such a thing existed…

However, as I was contemplating the vagueness of dreams and treacle tart my eyes were slowly focusing on the injured alarm clock beside me. An alarm clock that read 9:30. Oh crap. I was so late!

I was halfway across the room towards the wardrobe when I realised, right… no work today. But just as I was about to fall back into bed, my foggy brain finally caught up to the most recent events.

No work. But I was about to have visitors.

Oh bugger.

I had showered, dressed, had breakfast and cleaned the apartment about a hundred times. And I had only been up two hours.

I didn't know why I was in such a panic about the state of my home. An empty mug sitting on the counter had never bothered me before, but now I was obsessively cleaning the darkest corners of the rooms.

My madness was scaring me. I had panicked when I thought of the dust collecting under the couch and spent twenty minutes carefully sweeping underneath it. And only then had it occurred to me that my guests were highly unlikely to be inspecting it, unless they ended up on the floor somehow…

The doorbell rang. I dropped the duster I was holding in a panic and ran around the room, throwing random items into cupboards - they were early!

I ran around the room like mad - I was pretty sure I resembled a headless chicken. And it was a few seconds before I managed to collect my thoughts enough to open the door.

Drew was standing in the doorway, smirking and apparently unaware that he was facing a dragon. A crazy, furious, fire-breathing dragon, who he had just startled into thinking her guests were half an hour early - and nearly given her a heart attack in the process.

"What. Do. You. Want?" I managed to spit out, struggling to regain composure.

His smirk fluttered a little. Ha. Take that. I'm not always nicey nicey.

"Just wondering if you wanna go out. There's a barbecue on today in my friend's house - on the other side of the city."

He just didn't give up.

"I can't ..Drew, you see, I have visitors coming today. My… family."

He looked confused now. "I didn't realise… I've never seen them around before."

Yeah, that's because they've never been.

I had never told Drew about losing my memory, or anyone else for that matter. Plus, it wasn't like it had ever come up in conversation.

'So, where did you used to live? Can't remember.

You have a family? Don't know….' etc. etc.

Yup. Awkward would have become unbearable.

"This is their first visit. We.. um… we haven't spoken in a while."

I had half expected Drew to eagerly invite my visitors to his party but, to my intense surprise, he simply nodded.

"Ah, I see. Don't worry about the party." He cracked a grin. "It was a long shot anyway"

He turned and started walking away, but halfway to his door he stopped and turned.

"Oh, and Elena?"

"Yeah?" I asked, confused.

"Good luck."

I was startled. What had made him think I needed luck? Then I saw the expression on his face. It wasn't a normal Drew expression - there was no cocky grin, no laughing eyes. He looked.. understanding.

It suddenly occurred to me that in the year I had been living here I had never once seen anyone visit Drew. I had spotted a couple of guys his age every now and again (usually carrying booze) but never anyone who had stayed.

Where were his family? I thought I understood that expression now. There was something more to Drew.. Something I had never taken the time to notice before.

I watched as he walked back down the hall to his apartment, no doubt to get ready for his friend's barbecue. I pulled back into my own flat. Maybe when I had sorted out my own life, I could talk to Drew. Something told me we had a bit more in common than I had ever realised.

I had my own problems to see to now though. Namely, my unnamed visitors.

I set back into my cleaning, now with twenty minutes to go until twelve. Then again, I probably had a bit longer, people didn't usually arrive right on time. They'd probably be a couple of minutes late at least.

I watched the clock hand tick gradually closer to twelve. Five seconds, three, two, one.

'Ding'

What? Had they just timed themselves to my clock? Wait, no, that was impossible. It was just coincidence.

But their presence was a slightly more pressing matter than their punctuality. They were here, so I should really open the door.

The doorbell rang again. They were definitely here, this wasn't a dream… Oh crap, They were here!

I paused, my hand on the door. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Newfound connections aside, if this was Drew I would literally murder him...

It wasn't.

Dominique stood in the doorway, accompanied by four others. I stared at them, there were three boys, men rather, and a woman.

They stared right back at me, with expressions very similar to the one Dom had worn last night… Gosh, was that only last night?

I found myself saying hello and motioning them inside, all the whilst feeling slightly removed from my body. Here, standing right beside me, were people who knew me - the real me. I studied each of them in turn.

Standing beside Dom was a guy about her height, slightly taller. He had reddish brown hair and darkish skin. You couldn't pick a specific colour.

He was holding hands with a young woman. Her brown hair was held up in a stylish bun with wisps of hair framing her face. She had a kindly look about her, sweet and caring.

Behind her stood a man, evidently a lot older than his companions if the streaks of grey in his jet-black hair were anything to go by. Yet the bright green eyes set behind a pair of glasses gave an impression of vitality and youth.

And, finally, beside him was another young man. It was obvious at first glance that they were related - they had they same hair and similar facial structures. It was their eyes, however, that set them apart. While the older man had green eyes, almost the colour of emeralds, his younger companion had the most gorgeous brown eyes - chocolate brown.

Our eyes met for the briefest of moments. He had been staring at me, well they were all staring at me, but there was something different about his gaze. I could see warmth and wonder in his eyes, and something else, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

But the look was gone as quickly as it came. He tore his eyes away from mine, his face becoming a perfect smooth mask.

He didn't catch my eye again.

The atmosphere was strange. I had been prepared for awkward but, weirdly enough, there had been very little awkwardness. No. It was just strange.

Dominique spoke first, interrupting my inner musings, to introduce her companions. The darkish guy with the gingerish hair was Fred. He, apparently, was Dom's cousin - one of many if the comments were anything to go by.

The girl who was holding his hand was called Jenna. They were obviously a couple, but no one had taken the time to explain exactly what the relationship was between them. I settled for boyfriend and girlfriend. They could have been engaged but I hadn't had a chance to check for rings.

The older man, Dom introduced as 'Uncle Harry' and the guy standing beside him as his son, James.

And that was about as much introduction as Dom was going to give.

She proceeded to flop down on the couch, looking for all the world like she owned it. Her companions exchanged looks - not angry or amused, but more like understanding.

Or perhaps it was looks of long suffering. Either way, I got the feeling that Dom couldn't give two hoots about social graces or what was expected of her. She struck me as kind of a… free spirit.

Everyone else sat down, slightly more hesitantly than Dom.

Harry spoke first. It didn't really surprise me - he gave off an air of being in charge. I got the feeling that even if he was the youngest person in a room he would still have authority.

"It's so good to finally see you again Elena. You don't know how worried we've been." He smiled. "So tell me, what did Dom tell you yesterday?"

"Hey. I already told you everything I said to her! I-"

"Dom." He sent her a stern look. " I just want to hear it from Elena's point of view. Now Elena, what did Dom say to you yesterday?"

I glanced quickly between Dom and her uncle.

"Well, she told me my real surname - Thomas - and stuff about my family. You know, the fact that we don't talk. But Dom said you'd tell me much more today."

Dom nodded along to every word I said. "See Uncle Harry! I told you I didn't let anything slip about the-" she froze mid-sentence. "the, um, thing…"

I glanced around. Everyone in the room was glaring at her, with the odd exception of James, who didn't seem to have been listening to a word Dom said.

She glanced at me, looking remarkably like a rabbit caught in the headlights, and swiftly, but not subtly, changed the subject.

"So, Elena. Tell us about your job."

I was suddenly getting the feeling that there was a whole lot more to my previous life than I had originally thought.

A while later, after quite a long chat, I was still getting the impressions that my visitors were hiding something. Every question I asked was answered, but some answers weren't exactly what I was looking for.

It reminded me of Dom's quick summary of my life yesterday - a good bit of information, but lacking details.

I had so far discovered that I had a brother and a sister, who like my parents, I no longer spoke to, and that the Weasleys had pretty much filled in as my pseudo family as soon as I had met them.

Dom and Fred had plenty of stories about our antics growing up, as along with all of their cousins we had played pranks on just about everyone we knew.

I assumed I had just gone along with these elaborate schemes. It was evident that those two had been the masterminds behind everything - like a pair terrible twins.

Even Harry, or Uncle Harry, contributed a few anecdotes about my youth, and some of the more legendary pranks. They certainly seemed to be the kind of large, dysfunctional family I had pictured.

The only two I couldn't figure out were Jenna and James.

Jenna was not in any of the stories told, nor was she one of the school friends mentioned. I couldn't work out why she was here. Dom and Fred were obviously my two best friends and Uncle Harry seemed to have been a kind of father figure to me, but Jenna was neither.

There didn't seem to be any reason why she should be here instead of Albus or Lucy or Louis, or any of the other cousins who had been mentioned about a hundred times each.

And James… well, James was a strange one. He spent most of the time just listening to the conversation, occasionally confirming a something one of the others said, despite the fact that he was mentioned more than any other cousin in the stories.

We must have known each other quite well, before, but he was exuding none of the same ecstatic happiness as Dom or Fred at seeing me. I wondered just exactly how friendly our relationship had been.

I just couldn't explain to myself why they were here over all those other people who had been so 'desperate' to come see me and who were so 'ecstatic' I had been found.

Harry seemed to notice my expression, something that Dom and Fred hadn't seen, lost in excited ramblings as they were. I wasn't surprised he had been the one to notice, he struck me as a very observant man.

I got the impression he was about to say something, but Dom suddenly stopped Fred mid-sentence, turning to me.

"Elena?" she asked, quickly. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Uh, yeah…" I answered, slightly confused. "It's just through there…."

As Dom was hurried towards the door I'd pointed to, Fred stood up.

"Do you mind if I grab a drink of water? I'm a little thirsty." I nodded again and wordlessly pointed out the kitchen.

Well that was odd - he mustn't have been too eager to tell stories without Dom's back-up.

I thought that was end of the excuses but then James decided to make his escape.

"You know what? I'm feeling thirsty too. I'm just gonna head in there with Fred." So with what was the longest speech he had made so far, James followed his cousin into the kitchen.

I sat back, taking a deep breath and playing back over what had just happened. In the space of about two seconds, half of our group had just deserted camp.

At least, I hoped that was what had happened. The other possibility was that they were a bunch of super secret spies, and this was some huge, elaborate plot to get me. Dom was probably rifling through my things right at this minute.

Maybe I came from a family of spies, or maybe I was a spy, and Elena wasn't my real name, and these people were actually here to kill me, or trick me, or-

Harry interrupted my internal freak-out.

"You'll have to excuse me. I feel very bad doing this, I know we must seem like terrible guests, but I must send my wife a message. I promised I'd contact her at one o'clock."

Goodness, was it one already? I had barely noticed the time fly by.

"I'll be back in a minute. I just have to let her know everything's going okay."

I nodded, and he went out into the hall - as he presumably needed to be alone to text his wife. I put that little bit of information into the fast expanding folder at the back of my mind, labelled "Strange Things The Weasley's Do."

Jenna and I were now completely alone. Typical that the only one left would be the one I had heard no stories about, and who apparently had no stories to tell me either.

I figured I may as well start by asking the question that had been bugging me since they arrived.

"So you're Fred's… girlfriend?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Um, wife actually"

Well I hadn't been expecting that.

"Wife? Wow, I didn't…" What was I supposed to say? I didn't know? Of course I didn't know - I wouldn't remember...

But, as it turned out, this was one time when that little fact didn't make much of a difference.

"We got married about six months ago.. I, um, I never met you. Fred took me to meet his family after we'd gotten engaged and that was about a year ago after you.. you had.. disappeared."

Ah, that made sense. But it still didn't explain why she was here instead of the people I had known.

She looked at me. "How are you finding all of this?" It was a vague question, but I was pretty sure I knew what she was talking about.

"It's… confusing. I've spent the last year living here, with absolutely no memory of who I was, thinking I would never find out. And then you guys arrive in, telling me all these stories… It's a lot to take in."

And it was. All the revelations and stories I had been hearing had been scaring me slightly.

Jenna nodded. "Yeah. I can see how it might be. "

I didn't know her at all, but there was something about Jenna that made you trust her, and I found myself opening up.

"I was really excited to meet you all… But I'm not sure if I want to know everything now. I know it was foolish, but I hadn't really thought about the possibility that I had a complicated family life and stuff. I don't know.. maybe it would be better to take a step back…"

She sighed. "Look Elena, I've only been part of this family for a while but even I can see how much they love you. You can't just decide to not get to know them.."

I was still hesitant. "I dunno…"

She scrutinised me for a moment, before speaking.

"Okay, how about this for a deal, since I only just joined the Weasley clan myself, I'll give you a hand getting to know them. Stuff they don't even think to mention to you, that they forget you don't know."

"And in return?"

"You promise me that you will make an effort to get to know them."

I looked at her, wondering if she was getting at anything, but she looked pretty sincere.

"Deal?"

I thought about it, and suddenly realised that I didn't really have a choice - there was no way I was going back to the life I had been living. I wasn't sure if I was going to like some of the things I was about to find out but couldn't really back out now.

And besides, what was life without a little risk?

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews guys! I love you :)

I won't be able to update for another few months - it's study, study, study until the Leaving Cert...

But until then, please review and keep an eye out for the next chapter!

-Molly


	4. Do You Believe In Magic?

After my conversation with Jenna, everyone had gradually made their way back to the living room. Harry had come back in from the hall, Dom had bounded in from the bathroom and James and Fred had returned from my kitchen.

That had been well over an hour ago and, since then, we had chatted and talked and I had heard many more stories. Some more… interesting, than others.

"Oh Elena! We have to tell you about your very first visit to Hogsmeade! It was hilarious!" That was Dominique, squealing as usual.

"Hogsmeade?" I laughed. "That's an odd name.. Is it some kind of theme park?"

Right. I definitely hadn't misinterpreted the look everyone had just sent her. Fred was full out glaring at Dom. So were James and Harry. Odd.

"N-no." she stuttered, shrinking slightly from Fred's narrowed eyes. "It's a little village near our boarding school.. Weird name right?" She laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah, weird name.." I paused. "Weren't you going to tell me a story about it?" I prompted.

"Oh, umm… yeah. I've forgotten." She laughed again.

Sure she had. But I was not about to let this one slide. All of them had been accidentally 'letting things slip out' all evening - I was going to figure this one out.

But Fred spoke just as I opened my mouth. The Weasley's had a penchant for doing that too.

"Actually! I remember that story - I was there too… And if I remember correctly, Dom, it wasn't Elena who made that day 'hilarious'" he smirked.

Well if looks could kill.

Fred continued, looking at me.

"It was winter and since our school was in Scotland… Well, it was icy…. and snowy. And Dom..." Here he paused to snort.

"Well Dom decided it would be a fine idea to wear a pair of high heeled boots! On a two mile walk through two feet of snow!" Fred was laughing at this stage, and James had joined in. Even Harry and Jenna were grinning.

I myself thought it sounded like a very Dom thing to do.

"But of course it wasn't until we were halfway to Hogsmeade that she realised it might be a bad idea." James picked up the story. "But by then…" he laughed.

"It was a little late."

Dom huffed.

"See Elena, there's this pretty big hill on the way to the village from the school. And in the winter it's snowy. And icy." Fred added. "And therefore" he grinned at Dom. "Slippy."

"Okay! Okay!" Dom interrupted angrily. "May I just make the point that - I. Did. Not. Slip."

"No." James grinned. "You fell."

"My shoes snapped. It was shoddy workmanship. Nothing to do with my decision to wear them or not." Dom huffed. "It was simply coincidence I was standing on the top of a hill at the time."

"A very long hill…"

"Shut up Fred. It's not funny."

"Is too. Your legs went over your head."

"Seriously?! Oh, you are such a child!"

"Alright guys! Enough with the bickering" Harry interrupted.

Everyone stopped. I got the impression that this was a rather common occurrence in the Weasley households (plural).

Dom and Fred stopped glaring at each other. Or rather, Dom stopped glaring. Fred hid his grin (not very well).

A few moments later, everything was forgotten (no one held grudges in the Weasley clan either it seemed) and they were back on their storytelling roll.

I heard stories about lakes and ponds (and falling), water balloon and snowball fights and turkeys on children's heads.

Yeah, you heard that one right. James had once stuck a Christmas turkey on his little sisters head. The story was incredibly hilarious - try to picture an eight year old girl running into cupboards and tables because she has a bird on her head…

Although James insisted he was not the only culprit.

"It was Teddy's idea! And Fred helped! Plus, Lils was fine…"

"Yeah, except that she was traumatised for months afterwards." Dom answered.

"What do you mean it was Teddy's idea!?" This was Harry. James suddenly resembled a cat caught on the headlights.

"Uh.. Did I say that? Um, nope. Nah. Uh uh. My older, sort of, brother had absolutely nothing to do with it. At all!" And he sat there, furiously nodding.

Yeah, right. I bet there was some sort of blackmail involved there. Harry seemed to think so too, if his narrowed eyes were anything to go by, but he let it be. For now.

I heard several more stories in the next while. Though none quite as funny as the turkey incident.

Yet in that entire time, the biggest piece of information I learned was that James and Harry's surname was, in fact, Potter, and that they were related to the Weasleys through James' mum (Harry's wife), whose brothers were Dom and Fred's fathers.

And I was pretty sure that there was more than two Weasley men. In any case, I had heard names such as Rose, Lucy, Albus, Scorpius (Seriously. Who names their kid that?) Molly and Teddy. And that was only off the top of my head. Some were 'honorary' cousins, some were actual cousins and some weren't even cousins at all. I had long since stopped trying to figure out who was who.

Everything was just a blur of stories about people I had never met. Scratch that. People I couldn't remember.

But who, as I was constantly reminding myself, could remember me.

Which just made it all the more daunting that I was going to be meeting them all. Tomorrow. For Sunday dinner.

I wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but I had a feeling I had been set up. Fred had been telling an hilarious story about garden gnomes and cats and a pond and, funnily enough, Nana Weasley's Sunday dinner, when Dom had cut in. And invited me to dinner the following day.

And I said yes. Because I'm clever like that. Agreeing to go to a dinner where every single person who I used to know will be. And (need I say it?) none of whom I remember.

A fact Dominique seems to keep forgetting.

"Oh and Roxy will be there too! You know how she always wanted to travel and stuff?"

No, actually I don't. But Dom continued, barely pausing for breath.

"Well she's just back from Asia. Kadak- no, Kirzak- wait that's not right, Kanzikstan? Well it's something with a 'stan'."

"Kazakhstan?" Fred interrupted dryly.

"That's the one!"

I stifled a smile. For a very sarcastic person, Dom was awful at knowing when someone was mocking her.

"Well even she'll be at lunch, and you know it's important if Roxy is actually coming back from Ka-… wherever."

So everyone would be there… literally, everyone. And all to see me.

"You'll enjoy Granddad Weasley too. He's obsessed with the newest technologies." James added with a smile.

James had really improved over the last hour or so. True, his contribution to the conversation was minimal, but he had actually laughed and told stories. I figured Fred must have given him some kind of pep talk in the kitchen.

His actions seemed kind of controlled though, like he was making a supreme effort to remain civil. Every now and again his laughter would seem forced, his smile strained.

It made me think that there was a lot more to our previous relationship than anyone was letting on. But the only explanation I could come up with was that we had had quite a sour relationship in the past.

He certainly wasn't as ecstatic to see me as everyone else.

I made a mental note to ask Dom about it later on.

They laughed for another while about Granddad Weasley until Jenna finally pointed out the time.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how reluctant they all were to leave - I must have been a much better hostess than I thought.

"What time should I be ready tomorrow?" I asked Dom, as they were all preparing to go.

She exchanged a glance with her companions.

"Early." she answered. "About nine? We should leave plenty of time to.. drive to the Burrow."

I nodded my assent, not missing her hesitation. It was almost as if she hadn't remembered they were using a car to get around, but I shook it off. It was just my overactive imagination at work.

"The car is big enough for all of us right?" I asked, although there wasn't really any reason why I should be asking. "Or do you have two?"

Dom looked confused at my question, so Jenna answered for her.

"We have a family carrier." I nodded in understanding, but Dom still looked confused, as did Fred. Odd.

I decided to continue my interrogation for a little longer. I was actually incredibly curious - even in the smallest things were interesting.

"Where are you all staying?"

Again with the glances. This time it was Jenna who answered.

"An hotel close by, it's not too far."

"Great" I smiled at them, "Are you sure you know the way? It's pretty easy to get lost in a city like this."

But Jenna shook her head.

"It's only a few minutes walk away from here. And I've been to Edinburgh before so I know my way around."

Ah. That could explain why she was here.

Then again, this wasn't really a touristy part of the city - even people who lived in the city didn't know their way around here.

I'd really have to find out why she had come - for definite. But it could wait. For now, I was content to just mull over this extraordinary day… and dream about tomorrow.

Little did I know, I was to find out a lot more than just Jenna's reasons for being here in the morning...

The next morning, to my surprise, I opened the door to only three Weasleys. Or, should I say, two Weasleys and a Potter.

Jenna, Dom and Uncle Harry were standing outside, but there was a curious lack of Fred and James.

I frowned slightly as I motioned the three inside. Opening my mouth to ask where Fred and James were, I was reasonably startled to hear the words coming out of my mouth.

"Where are Tweedledum and Tweedledee?"

Dom looked startled too, not that I could blame her. When had anyone ever called the cousins Tweedledum and Tweedledee?

"W-Why did you call them that?" she asked, in a breathless tone. "How did… Do you remember? You haven't called them that since before…"

Ah. So it turned out someone had called them that before.

Me.

"Um.. I really don't know." I answered. "The words just… came out."

She shook her head, laughing slightly.

"I can't believe you remembered that! The amount of times I heard you call them…" she trailed off, still looking startled.

Thankfully, Uncle Harry stepped in to answer the original question.

"Fred and James went on ahead to the Burrow - they had to get some things sorted."

Lovely. Another vague answer.

But before I could press for further information, Jenna decided to contribute to the conversation.

"We said we'd bring you. There's a few things we should… discuss, before we go."

That sounded ominous. However, there was another, rather pressing question on my mind.

"How are James and Fred getting to the Burrow exactly? I was under the impression you only had one car?"

From the rabbit-in-the-headlights look on Dom's face, and the resigned sigh from Harry, I figured I had finally caught them out. I knew I had smelled a rat.

Ha. You can't fool Elena, suckers!

It was Jenna who answered.

"Um, well, you see Elena…" she took a deep breath. "The Burrow is kind of in Devon"

I narrowed my eyes at her. Kind of in Devon?

"As in, Devon in England?" I asked.

She nodded quickly.

"You do realise that we're currently in Scotland? And that Devon is around, oh I don't know, 500 miles away?"

There was no possible way James and Fred could drive to Devon in time for lunch, unless, of course, they had left several hours ago.

In which case, there was absolutely no way we were going to make it to the Burrow by lunchtime… or even dinner time. The rat I had smelled was getting bigger and bigger.

Jenna nodded again.

"Yes. Which is why you should probably sit down."

I sat.

This time it was Uncle Harry who spoke.

"What we're trying to say, Elena, is that we will be there in time for lunch. Despite the fact that the Burrow is five hundred miles away."

"Right." I said, trying to normalise this conversation. "So we're flying."

Maybe they had a private jet or something.

"Uh, no. Not exactly."

Not exactly? I laughed nervously.

"So we're what? Teleporting?" I laughed again, but stopped after a few seconds.

No one else was laughing.

"Come on." I looked quickly from one to the other. "You're not seriously trying to say that we're going to be teleporting to Devon?"

"Um, well, we don't call it teleporting…." Dom muttered.

I was suddenly very glad I was sitting down.

"It's a form of transport that… our kind use." she continued. "We call it Apparition"

Our kind? Apparition? Oh God, they were all loonys. Or else this was all some sort of crazy prank.

I didn't actually know which was worse.

"Your kind?" I asked.

"Yes, um.." Her voice was becoming very high-pitched. "Wizards."

Wizards. Okay.

I sat there for few minutes, just staring, pretty much stunned into silence. There were two possibilities here.

One: I was currently in the company of a bunch of nutters, who believed they were wizards. Apparently the magical kind, since they thought they could travel several hundred miles in an instant.

This was the option I was inclined to believe, since number two was: They were telling the truth.

In which case wizards were real, and magical, and apparently able to travel hundreds of miles in an instant.

Which was, admittedly, pretty cool.

Although there was a third possibility. One that didn't involve me having crackpots as family.

Three: This was all some sort of joke.

And as soon as I fell for it they were going to run around screaming 'Haha! Got ya!'

Or I could be insane and currently imagining this entire episode….

That was a bit more than two options, wasn't it?

There was only one way to show that no one in this room was cracked. So I shook my head.

"You're going to have to prove it"

Harry nodded, like he'd been expecting me to say that, and took a deep breath.

"Okay then. Just… be prepared."

I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything. It appeared Option 3 was null and void, since Harry actually seemed to believe he was about to perform magic.

So I prepared myself. I was certain he was going to do something funny with his hands, mutter abracadabra and then pull a coin from my ear. That, I could deal with.

I could explain that away - "Oh, you mean that kind of magic.." You know, the kind with the cheap entertainers and fake smoke and pretty, blonde assistants. I was ready for something like that.

I was not ready for him to take out a long, polished stick of wood. I guessed this was his 'magic wand' - a bit of a departure from tradition but, oh well.

I was also not ready for him to point it at an empty vase to the windowsill, flick it and for the vase to suddenly fill to the brim with water.

Impossible.

But, apparently, very possible. Harry hadn't even spoken a word. There was no 'Abracadabra' or sparks flying from the wand. He simply pointed the stick at the vase.. and it filled.

And there was no way it could be a trick vase. I had bought it at a market five months ago and polished and cleaned it myself. Harry hadn't gone near it yesterday or today. No one had touched it at all.

Impossible.

Then, suddenly, a bouquet of flowers appeared in the vase. My favourites - red tulips.

"How?..." I breathed.

I was getting pretty fed up of thinking 'impossible' all the time.

Jenna looked sympathetic.

"Yeah, I know. It takes a bit of getting used to."

I blinked. "Sorry?"

"When I was told, I pretty much reacted the same way you just did. There was a bit more shouting though.."

Told what, exactly?

"Okay.. Okay.." I breathed, "Let's start again shall we? What exactly is going on!?"

"Magic is real. You're a witch." That was Dom, blunt as usual.

"Right" I said. "So you're a witch, Harry's a wizard and Jenna's a witch too?"

"Um, nope. Not exactly." Jenna answered. "I'm not a witch. I can't do magic or anything. I'm what wizards call a Muggle."

I looked at her in confusion. Muggles. Okay.

"Muggles?"

"Non-magic folk." Harry answered. "They have no wizarding ancestry and can't perform magic."

"And I'm a witch? A… non-Muggle?" I asked.

They all nodded.

"But I can't do magic! I don't even have one of those whatchamacallit wood things!" I insisted, gesturing wildly at Harry's 'wood thing'.

"A wand." Dom answered. "And yeah, you do."

I do?

"It's at the Burrow." Harry cut in. "We've been keeping it safe since you disappeared."

Wow. I had a magic wand. Beyond cool.

I think.

As I seemed to be doing quite a bit, I decided to leave that line of question and instead asked a very pressing question.

"So, are all the stories, and.. things you told me true?" Were they really as close to me as they said?

Dom smiled and nodded. "Of course! Except, we kind of omitted things from the stories we told you.."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Um, well, remember Fred and James told you that story about me in Hogsmeade?" she frowned.

I nodded.

"That visit happened in our sixth year. Telling that story was Fred's way of covering for me. I was about to tell you about your first visit to a magical village."

"Oh, I see." I answered, and smiled at her. "You were about to let something slip."

She nodded and sighed, but I was thinking of the other odd moments I had noticed the previous day.

"So yesterday, when you went outside to send your wife a message, you weren't texting her were you?" I asked Harry.

He smiled. It was a rather proud smile, like he was proud I had noticed.

"No. We communicate in other ways."

"Like what?"

"There are lots, but the one I used is called a Patronus. I'll show you one sometime."

I filed that in the back of my mind. Sounds interesting.

I looked to Jenna.

"And you weren't staying in a hotel in Edinburgh?"

"No."

"James and Fred aren't driving down to Devon are they?" I had sort of resigned myself to acceptance at this stage.

"Nope. Actually, they've been there a while already."

"So your whole family is there too?"

"Your family as well." Dom corrected. "There's so much more to tell you, but we figured it would be easier to say it all there."

"And we thought it would be better to introduce to you to magic first." Jenna added. "The Burrow is… well, it's very magical, and there would've been no hiding it. Plus, you know, plopping you right into it isn't exactly the best way to show someone." She grimaced.

"Fred's an idiot." Dom said, by way of explanation.

I nodded unsurely.

"Right." Harry interrupted. "We'd best get going now, as lunch starts in, oh I don't know, about five minutes?"

"Alright then Lena" grinned Dom. "Hold on tight."

She held out her left arm and I took it, still not quite sure how we were 'teleporting'.

"Wait Dom." Uncle Harry said. "I think we should explain -"

But with a cheeky grin and an extremely unbelievable 'Whoops!', Dom spun around.

And all of a sudden the world collapsed in on itself. It felt like I was spinning through a vortex, but one that had been built for a baby - not a twenty-something year old woman. My lungs were being squeezed so tight, it felt like I was about to be crushed.

Then, what felt like hours later but must have only been seconds, I could breathe again.

I stood up straight, shakily enough, hearing a 'pop' beside me. Which turned out to be Harry and Jenna. Both of whom were glaring at Dom.

I left them to it, and instead gazed at the house they had brought me to. Or perhaps the better term was houses.

Because the building in front of me could not simply be described as a house. It looked as if several cottages had been lifted up and mashed together.

We were at the Burrow.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, hello my lovely readers! Please don't shoot me for leaving this story for so long - I will update much quicker next time! I have been delighted at the response to this story so please keep reading and reviewing :) I am especially curious as to which Weasley you are most looking forward to meeting at the Burrow. And what do you think of the storyline so far? I promise there will be a proper plot, but Elena needs to discover the Wizarding World first!

Thanks for all your reviews! :)

-Molly


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